Yesterday was our last day in the rounding in the hospital and seeing patients in the clinic. Sheila and I talked Jaquelyn and Lena into helping out with triaging the patients in the clinic and it went pretty well. Usually everyone just has to wait their turn regardless of how sick they are but this way the girls identified those patients that really needed to be seen and sent them in first.
We said our goodbyes to all the nurses and patients and took some pictures of everyone. Leaving Nalerigu was a little bitter sweet experience because I have really enjoyed my time here but at the same time it will be nice to go home and see my friends and family again, and of course to finally find out where I’m headed for residency. I will definitely miss all the people that I have met and all the patients that I have taken care of here.
It is strange to think of all the interesting patients and cases that I have seen here, much of which I would never see in the States. Just some of those include severe malnutrition, dealing with acute respiratory distress without supportive equipment, breech deliveries gone horribly bad, 14 year old girl with renal failure and no dialysis available, never ending nose bleeds in a severly anemic woman, endless amount of snake bites, severe inguinal hernias and hydrocoeles (men walking around with a basketball between their legs), malaria, acute typhoid abdomen, tuberculosis, and deliveries on the floor. There are so many interesting things to see and do here at the BMC!
We had to leave Nalerigu at 4 am in order to catch our flight from Tamale to Accra. The first 90 minutes of that drive are pretty brutal, driving on a dirt road trying to avoid rocks, pot holes and of course the goats that are all over the place. Therefore, when we finally arrived in Accra this morning I was pretty tired and took a quick nap. After lounging around for a while we went back to Osu Street, where we walked around for a while. Our flight tomorrow doesn’t leave until 9pm so we are planning on going to the beach which should be nice. By Monday morning we will be back in the States and to our usual routine, but I’m ready to start planning my next international medical experience already!